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Published on 06/02/1997 All articles from this issue

Controversy follows acceptance of De Martini house

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

Across from city hall a quaint, gingerbread cottage known as the De Martini house waits in the middle of a bare lot as contingencies and controversies cloud its future.

The issues: where to put it and who will use it.

In April the Los Altos City Council accepted the donation of the building from its owner, the developers of the Parc Regent condominiums at the corner of Edith Avenue and San Antonio Road.

City acceptance came with contingencies: finding a new site, obtaining agreement to move the house, and rehabilitating it at no cost to the city, according to council minutes.

The house is already on city-owned land. But the site is one the city had designated as a future park.

The neighbors next door, in the new Parc Regent condos, don't want a house in the middle of the park.

They bought with the promise that the house would be gone. Now they are pressuring the city to follow through, said Bruce Bane, Los Altos director of public works.

The city is working on where to put the house. Bane reported to the city council in May that members of the four city commissions - library, history, planning, and parks and recreation - would each be asked for input regarding four possible sites, none of which is the San Antonio spot.

As the city grapples with where to put the house, it also looks at other issues, such as a policy regarding rental to non-profits, said City Manager Dianne Gershuny at the May 13 city council meeting.

Members of the Los Altos Community Foundation (LACF), a local 501(c)(3) charitable organization, had submitted a proposal to the city. They suggested "that LACF accept De Martini house to be used by local charitable organization(s) registered as 501(c)(3)," and that the Community Foundation would pay for house foundation work, hooking up utilities, landscaping and moving the building to be located on the San Antonio property, according to March 19 foundation minutes.

From this proposal came allegations of conflict of interest.

Los Altos resident Jan Dobson read letters at both the April 8 and May 27 council meetings raising the issue.

Mayor Francis La Poll, Councilwoman Patti Williams and Gershuny are all listed in a Foundation brochure as founders of Los Altos Tomorrow, now called the Los Altos Community Foundation.

A person becomes a founder by pledging $1,000 over five years, according to foundation literature.

"There is absolutely no conflict of interest," said City Attorney Bob Booth. "The only time there is a conflict of interest under law is when someone gains financially. And these people do not gain.

"(The foundation) is a charitable foundation," Booth said. "It is no different than the Red Cross or the Girl Scouts.

"It would be a sad day if members of city council or city staff cannot contribute to charities."